European Union To Build AI Factories And Gigafactories Under New ‘AI Continent Action Plan’ To Close Gap With US, China

The European Union has launched a comprehensive plan aimed at turning its industrial legacy and skilled workforce into a driving force for artificial intelligence (AI) advancement.

Announced by the European Commission on 9 April, the “AI Continent Action Plan” comes amid criticism from tech industry players and other stakeholders, who have argued that the EU’s regulations are overly burdensome and could stifle innovation in the sector.

The European Commission is the executive body of the 27-member bloc.

“Achieving our ambitions in AI will require leadership both in developing and using AI. It entails sustained investment in infrastructure (including computing power and networks), alongside advances in model development, and broad adoption across the economy,” the plan reads, Indian Express reported.

To narrow the gap with the US and China, the EU aims to strengthen its domestic AI infrastructure.

“The EU currently lags behind the US and China in terms of available data centre capacity, relying heavily on infrastructure installed in and controlled by other regions of the world, that EU users access via the cloud,” it notes.

The plan includes setting up a series of ‘AI factories’ and larger ‘AI gigafactories’—high-performance computing hubs equipped with advanced GPUs essential for training next-generation AI models.

New research centres will be created to support startups by improving access to quality training data.

A dedicated AI Act Service Desk will also be set up to help regional firms comply with EU's AI Act.

“The upcoming AI Act Service Desk will be a central point of contact for businesses seeking information and guidance,” the European Commission said.

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